Toll Worker Injured When Car Can't Stop

Birbal Ramdil was just an hour away from finishing his shift at an East-West Expressway toll plaza Sunday when a runaway car crushed him against an administration building.

Ramdil, 35, 1893 S. Semoran Blvd., was in serious condition after surgery on his leg and shoulder at Orlando Regional Medical Center. No one else was injured in the accident.

Ramdil, who had worked at the plaza for 2 1/2 years as a gate attendant, was behind the building on the shore of Lake Underhill, chatting with a co-worker on break.

At 1:15 p.m., Paul Kotseos, 35, of Bradenton, was headed west on the expressway when the brakes of his Cadillac Eldorado failed and the accelerator stuck, he told police. Kotseos said he aimed the out-of-control car at the toll plaza building to try to stop it, said Orlando police Lt. Bob Gregory.

The car hit Ramdil, who was resting on ladders piled behind the building, then careened into three cars lined up in the nearby employees' parking lot.

''It tore up the ground pretty good, so I would assume it was a pretty good speed,'' said Dan Adams, the toll facility supervisor.

Charges are pending against Kotseos, who was not injured.

''Thousands and thousands of cars a day pass through here, and for the most part they go right through in a matter of seconds with no accidents or problems,'' Adams said. ''This was just one of those unusual occurrences.''